Summary: One must find a place to fit in... or carve such a place out.
Author's Notes: Wow! So many reviews for that last chapter. I guess that means people liked how I did everything, though I have to admit I didn't like how it got set up on the website (all the dashes were removed, for some reason). I just hope that doesn't happen this time, because I like to make sure that everything is separated properly. Delta X is right- the chapters have been getting shorter. Slowly but surely, this little series of mine has become a lot easier to read, despite the 'technical difficulties' that I'm having with the two main characters. I guess I did the right thing in keeping Ayumi alive after all- I was fairly certain that I would at least get a few complaints, if not a flame or two for allowing her to survive the virus.
I think I'll let ya know now about something- I wrote that entire blizzard/bonfire thing before realizing that it fit well with the virus' intentions, and added the virus' influence to it. Zaisha, I'm glad that you liked that part (and the part with the police reploid standing over some 'stunned' anti-techies). When it comes to the three laws... well, you know the saying. Rules are meant to be broken. For Reploids, the Three Laws of Robotics are merely guidelines to govern basic behavior. However, because Reploids are not mindless, are capable of decision-making and in-depth thinking processes as a result, they can deny the laws as casually as a human would disobey laws set upon them by a government. As such, humanity either deals with the fact that Reploids are not simple robots (like Wily and Light's robots were, with obvious exceptions), or lose a vital portion of their workforce. Guess which one sounds better to most people?
I know I said that I won't be giving Arik a buster, back in the first chapters (I forget where exactly). I'm going to stick with that, but of course, I know how to provide alternatives. I don't design mecha for RPGs like RIFTS and Robotech without coming up with a few ideas that could work here as well, after all. As for the Street Fighter scene... well, with Magma Dragoon such an influential character in this (yeah, right), I wanted to bring up another Capcom series that was influential with the Mega Man X games. So, there it was. I don't expect to have any more cameos for other series, however, in this one. I've also heard that several people (you know who you are) enjoyed Double's appearance, as well as how I managed to get his character down. Along those lines, I've been told that maybe I have X acting a bit too... well, 'off' might be the best term for him. I agree- then again, I'd say that since is the third time that he's gone after Sigma and his mavericks and managed to defeat them, he's probably a bit, shall we say, stressed? I'll see about getting our blue hero some therapy, though (that could make a good one-shot fic. Maybe Wily should be the therapist?). Okay?
Oh yes, I also don't know Japanese, so I'm not about to try and do any more than the basics or anything. Sorry all!
Disclaimer: Again, if you guys at Capcom are too lazy to read the disclaimer on my Bio, you'll be too lazy to attempt to sue me for the usage of your characters. Anyway, the disclaimer's on the bio, so read it there before attempting to sue me. I hate adding this in every time I write a new chapter, after all.
At the airport
Customs was always a pain- not only to get out of an airport once you reached the destination, but before then as well. I learned this the hard way as he held his luggage while attempting to get through the security gate. Airport security had become somewhat more lax in the past century or two- one only needed to have their body and luggage scanned. The luggage was teleported when it was safe to do so, straight to a holding locker at the passenger's destination. This helped keep the weight on the airplane down, as well as allow for a somewhat faster flight. The fingers of the my right hand slid slowly through my short green hair slowly, even as my left clutched the handle of the duffel bag that I was carrying beside myself. I managed to grab a few things from my parent's locked accounts, mostly antiques from the storage bay that they had rented for a long while.
The Lightech computer had been there too! A laptop, no less, though certainly not of the EDDY series that had proven to be so popular in the mid-20XX era. It was more reminiscent of the ancient 'notebook' designs from even before the 200XX times, and it was not really very powerful or fast as a result. Certainly an antique, it had gone on the internet for a good price off of E-bay (still in use for over 200 years, despite maverick uprisings!). The other old computers hadn't been so carefully stored away, and were slightly damaged at the time I got there to see them. Still, I smiled as I remembered the face on the collector who offered me a fair price for the old machines. Of course I sold them as well.
All-in-all, I received a substantial amount of Zenny that helped counteract the remaining balance on my parts so well that I was all caught up, thanks simply to the sale of the Lightech laptop system. The only things I'd kept were the old albums that my mother had put together while I was younger, set into a minidisk, and a picture that I had managed to keep intact, saving it from my mangled wallet before I'd tossed it away. I didn't need it anymore, thanks to the hollow portions of my right and left legs that allowed the same usage as pockets in jeans in them, though I certainly wore jeans anyway. As I found myself in front of a security reploid, I gave him my duffel bag and presented my Identification information. He took the electronic ID and matched it to the readings he found with his own sensors, comparing them, and then with my own internal ID. With a nod, he gave back the duffel bag and disconnected the wireless connection that we had just shared, and I smiled as I took my things and walked past the checkpoint.
Gate... D5, I remembered, pulling up the file I had saved the relevant information in. Of course, the map was something that I didn't have a chance to memorize (or even take a mental picture of it). The place is really packed, I told myself, as I watched people come and go. Groups of humans and reploids mingled together... That's kinda strange, isn't it? Only a few weeks after that maverick uprising in Doppler Town, and people seemed to not care that reploids had caused it.
I smiled slowly as I realized that, unlike what so many people on television have said in the past week, there are far more humans who don't believe that reploids are entirely to blame for everything that had happened during the uprising. Dr. Light created the first reploid... the prototype, Mega Man X. Dr. Cain found him, copied his design, and then other creators and inventors put their own spin on the design. Then, humans treated reploids badly. The first mavericks. What is the true cause of that virus... the true reason of reploids going maverick? An actual virus, or reploids who were abused in some sort by the race that created them?
The thought took a lot of my time from me, and by the time I realized it, I found myself at the terminal that I needed to be at. D5, I saw, as I looked up to the gate designation that was well above my head. I shook my head, trying to clear those thoughts while I looked to the waiting area. Another 15 minutes before boarding began for the flight to New Tokyo. Did that first leader of the maverick hunters feel the same way... or had it simply been that virus that Dr. Doppler had proven to be real?
It was such a strange thought, Arik considered. Had most people thought of it like this as well? Humans pitted against Reploids in a battle for dominance, because of how the creator deals with the created... or because of something that someone created to change the race that had been created, by the creator? With a shrug, he forced his mind onto other things- unfortunately, they weren't the best things. Memories sprung up, unbidden, of his last trip here. When he had moved to the city that had once been existant upon that which was now wasteland.
My parents had just saved up enough money to start up their business in the newly built Doppler Town. It had been less than a year ago, no less! Yet, I had moved here with them, just before I turned 18. That was an unfortunate memory. The loneliest birthday that he'd ever had in my life- no celebration with my friends, only a dinner with my parents. Homework and then sleep. Not a single fun thing during the entire day, and not even playing a game had managed to stave off the boredom.
I hate moving. It's something that I've only done once or twice that I can remember, but I know that I couldn't stand having no one to talk to. With a glance to the ceiling, I sighed slowly. No need to be so open with others anymore. Lifesaver was the only one still about that I could speak to at all, and he was too busy to truly talk with anyone save for when he was actually working with me. Nope, none of my friends from my old school had bothered keeping track with me, even though I had tried to keep in touch with them after I moved. My friends that I'd made, the few of them, while I went to school here?
It was a memory that I didn't want to remember, because then there was that other memory of the one friend who did survive the destruction of the city... But not my own survival. No, I had forced myself to do what I needed to in order to get out of a life or death situation. Ever since that day, my right hand had felt, to me at least, dirty. As if I shouldn't even have it on my wrist at all, really. I'd always thought, attacking your own friends physically was something that should never be done, whether your friend be human or Reploid. But what else was there to do, if a Reploid turned maverick? The answer? There was none, really. Justification? That was always possible. But I know better...
I blinked as I felt a tap on my shoulder- and I adjusted, going from inner reflection to being aware of my surroundings once again. I looked up to see the robot, who informed me that the plane was now boarding. I nodded to the robot (a non-descript model, humanoid in appearance but otherwise only capable of its own programming) and stood up, only to see quite a line of people there. Humans, of course. Reploids rarely ever made the trip, or the time, to fly on an airplane.
With a sigh, I got into the line and relaxed- this would take a little while, I saw, and I took a look at the passengers through my sensors. Only humans in the line. No other cyborgs, or reploids, or even robots of any real size. I groaned softly as I saw only a large amount of boredom to tide me over. I hadn't even bought any magazines for the trip. Then again, it would be a long, 8-hour or so flight. Then I smiled slowly, remembering the one additional feature that I remembered having had installed in my accessible memory bank.
Roy! I called to the inner program within my mind, and I felt it awaken almost immediately. I hadn't called on it since the time I had it get rid of the suicide button, so to speak. I'll never need that one, I thought to myself, and I stepped forward as the line made slow yet steady progress forward towards the plane itself.
"How may this program assist you?" the voice asked me, and I grinned unconciously as I pondered an unusual thought.
Is it considered talking to yourself if a cyborg like myself has another voice in his head?
A few days before
In a room filled with several reploids, an old human, and the prototype of the reploid race, there was a new reploid about to be, to use an archaic term, 'resurrected.' Douglas, Alia, X, even Doctor Cain were there, checking and double checking the connections. Not that X could actually do much more than make sure that there wouldn't be any unwanted visitors while Douglas and Alia continued running all the necessary tests to make sure that no traces of the virus were left. Dr. Cain was checking all the electrical and mechanical systems with Douglas, when he could spare the time to do so.
"Everything's green here. Douglas, you did a very good job working on the new body." Dr. Cain told him, to which Douglas shrugged. But he did smile afterwards at the praise, even as he continued to check the internal readings on the reploid's systems. Mechanics and RAM tests proved green. Electrical systems are well within tolerable levels. The new secondary matrix was completely virus free, as it had been created and tested at Cain Labs. Douglas shook his head slowly, as he triple checked the system status, going through with the most in-depth diagnostic that he could send through the still de-activated body.
The female reploid on the table was clothed in basic civilian attire- a red t-shirt that was somewhat loose, a pair of jeans that weren't too tight. No one here truly knew how the reploid they had painstakingly put back together would react to waking up naked, so to speak. From the schematics and information that they had gone off of, Douglas had managed to recreate a body for the reploid that was amazingly detailed and lifelike, much like the original body had been. "Thanks, doctor Cain. But really, Alia did most of the work. I don't have a clue how she managed to get the nervous system fully up and running. Machines are more my department, after all." he told the old human.
Cain just rolled his eyes, even as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up as he adjusted his glasses, he found Alia smiling at him and giving the old man a litle shrug. "Come on, doctor. Play along with our little genius over there. Besides, it's almost time to wake up our little survivor here." she said, and he nodded in response to her words. All systems seemed to be working. The new fusion generator, now in-tune with the reploid's matrices, was already on. The coolant system, the nervous system, the processors and RAM. All now were aligned, working together to bring the reploid body back to 100 percent synchronization with the reploid mind installed in it.
"Quite right. How's the synchronization rate?" the good doctor asked, and Douglas spared him a glance, a smile, and a thumbs-up. Dr. Cain smiled at that, and then looked to the brunette before him on the table. The cane that he had in hand brought him closer to the table, and then he looked over to Alia. "Good. Give the signal to our patient, will you please?"
Alia nodded, and the blonde brought out the small remote that had been created for just this situation. The last week had been full of long nights and days for the two reploids who had been busy trying to recreate the female reploid who had somehow managed to survive the attack of the maverick virus. No fully functioning (yet sane) Reploid ever cared to connect themselves, in any way, to a reploid that was ever infected by the maverick virus. Even if, as in this case, all the virus checks turned out negative for even the faintest traces of any virus whatsoever. A wire from the remote was set into the small port on the inner portion of the left auditory sensor, and Alia pressed lightly on the button of the remote. The signal took a little less than five seconds to travel from the remote sensor to the reploid's secondary matrix, and the boot up sequence soon became enabled.
Initialization complete.
New hardware found: left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg. Left hand and foot, right hand and foot. Tactile sensor grid. USB v. 7.2. Primary Matrix v. 4.1. Visual adapters v. 3.1.
New software found: Antivirus v. 5.4, General Sensory v. 4, USB v. 7.2, Diagnostics v. 6, CainLabs Firewall v. 8.3. Language updates, Japanese, American English, Chinese, German, and Russian now available.
Installation of hardware and software commencing...
Strengthened by new parts, more powerful firewalls and automatic anti-virus defenses, the signal travelled through the wiring installed and then into the receiving mind. Powered by the new microfusion generator, the sleeping reploid within the matrix received the signal and the awareness expanded. Wire by wire, like a wildfire the awareness spread quickly. Integrating new parts, many at once. Integrating new systems that had otherwise been not a part of the original design, new software being detected. Newer versions of software already installed uploaded and upgraded the processors.
Breathing became apparent to the others who were watching. Systems came online. Mobility programs, language programming, anti-virus software. Vocal processors, auditory sensors. Tactile grid, nervous system online. Video sensors were last to come online. Ayumi gasped in the air, her generator giving off more heat as it spiked while her systems became integrated. Ayumi's eyes opened, though all she could see were the backup system checks as her visual sensors integrated slowly with her matrices. The systems check faded from view after a moment longer, and her senses cleared as she breathed deeply. Finally, she could feel, could stretch! And so she did, slowly, before realizing that her internal sensors had picked up the presence of four others nearby. The sound of a voice brought her to her senses, and then a small audible 'pop' became apparent as the sensors found that there was another reploid nearby.
"Wha..." was all she said, scooting back a little on the table before glancing about. A blonde female reploid wearing light pink armor. An old human that was using a cane to stay upright. A green-armored reploid that seemed to be wearing goggles or something, and another reploid off near a door of some sort who was holding a buster on his right arm. An old style buster, she realized, and Ayumi blinked as he stared at the figure who wore the weapon. He had a face that absolutely every reploid knew, and as she glanced to the old man, realization dawned on her. Or rather, her new informational memory kicked in and the information was supplied to her second matrix, giving her the information that was required. "Ah... I must still be dreaming." she said to herself, though the three reploids would surely have heard her voice. "Um... What's going on?" she asked the four in the room, looking for the entire world much like a scared little girl.
Off to the side, out of the way, X stood in the doorway with a smile. It seemed at least one reploid's life had been saved from the virus, if her early words and actions gave any indication as to her being controlled by the virus. Obviously, she wasn't, since she didn't automatically attack anyone. It took but a moment and a soft glow around his right arm as the buster disappeared, and his hand reappeared instead. His fingers flexed, one at a time, as the hand was reinitialized and connectivity re-established. No need for that, he thought to himself, as he stepped forward while Dr. Cain, Alia, and Douglas began to fill the girl in on what had happened to her.
He listened as Ayumi explained what she remembered last, when prompted to do so by Dr. Cain. She said something about having been looking for survivors after Gravity Beetle's attack on the middle of Doppler Town for a friend of hers. Then, her memory was fragmented after that, and she couldn't really tell what had happened. She remembered meeting someone strange near the repair shop that her friend's parents had worked at before it had been completely wiped out. Someone yellow, perhaps? A reploid, she remembered. Some brightly-colored hunter, she remembered, but then everything after that was as if it occured very vaguely. She remembered how her steps took her back to where her friend was recovering at a hospital, but nothing after a short while from then.
At the Present
Silence. It was something that she hadn't wanted for quite a while now, not since she had been deprived of senses that humans and reploids alike take for granted. As one who had been deprived of all senses, she knew quite a lot what it meant to be trapped and what it meant to be free. For the moment, she was free- in a guest room at the Maverick Hunters HQ, without so much as a roommate. Ayumi smiled a little, extending her right arm before her. It was truly amazing, the job that the two hunters had done in recreating her body, yet providing a substantial upgrade from her previous one. Instead of being somewhat blocky, as she had been with her first generation body, she now looked so much like a human that it would be impossible for anyone without sensors to distinguish herself from a human. Her body weight had been lightened by almost 50 as well, thanks to the construction materials that Douglas had used on her new body.
Yet, now she had more than her fill of silence in a few seconds than she ever cared to have again in her operational lifetime. Ayumi pulled on the jacket that she'd been provided by Alia, an old and slightly worn green windbreaker, and headed for the door. She didn't mind the fact that it was old and somewhat worn out, but it did itch a little. Her syntheflesh skin always did seem to take some getting used to, and it was a shade or two darker than her original skin had been- a nice improvement, actually, that she was glad of having had set in place. Speaking of place... starting this week, she'd have to decide on what she'd do next.
Cain Labs had been nice enough to put their money in on fixing up her body and matrix, but a return on the investment would be wanted. It was obvious that they'd spent quite a lot of zenny on her upgrades and body in general, despite the fact that Cain didn't mind putting up the funds for it. They knew now that it was possible, if difficult in the extreme, to save a maverick virus-infested reploid, if the matrices remained intact. Her memories were so foggy- many of them were gone. She knew that she'd had some experiences with certain things, but they were gone now. She had a vague sense that she was forgetting certain things, things she knew that she should know. And yet... well, a defragmentation routine would be required to try and fix that problem. It would destroy any chance she'd have of regaining those memories, however, and that was why she didn't bother with attempting to fix everything.
Ayumi's arms crossed before her chest as she stepped out from her room, and into the hallway. It was quiet, in this wing where all the guests were allowed to stay in. The strange thing, there were no guests. Douglas had told her that in this place, the guest rooms were only really utilized by Repliforce members, the occasional human, and a place for people to meet when required to do so. Other than that, it was never used. And that makes me feel so alone...
"Oh? Hello there... am I in the wrong place, or are you?" came a question from before her, down the hallway. The door slid shut behind Ayumi as she glanced down the hallway to see the person to whom that English-accented voice came from. A long haired girl, with a red beret of some sort, she saw. Fairly short, even shorter than I, Ayumi thought to herself, as she shook her head slowly at the strange reploid. She wasn't wearing a maverick hunter's insignia- instead, she was wearing a Repliforce insignia on her chest armor.
"Actually, I was given a room down here while I recover and finish repairs." Ayumi replied quietly, even as she walked down towards the reploid who had spoken to her. The brunette nodded and then bowed slightly, to which Ayumi returned the bow. My hair isn't that long, Ayumi noticed, as she stood back up before the somewhat shorter Reploid. The smaller Reploid smiled a little bit, reaching up with both hands to adjust the beret that had fallen off to one side.
"Finish repairs? Shouldn't you be in a repair bay rather than in a room out here?" the girl asked, a bit surprised obviously by the answer that had been given. Ayumi thought for a second and then shrugged slowly. What the hell. Ayumi smiled at that... Normally, I wouldn't use such language, not even in my thoughts!
"Yes. Believe it or not, I barely survived the maverick virus, and Dr. Cain was nice enough to replace the parts of my body that were infected." she told the brunette, who simply stepped back, her left hand raised to cover the shocked look that Ayumi could see immediately upon her face. "No need to worry, they all say that I'm not infected in the slightest, thank goodness. Even Dr. Cain and Douglas agree with that, though they said they're getting a specialist here to make sure of it within a few days."
"Truly? Well, if Dr. Cain says so, then it must be true. Lord knows that he wouldn't want anything to do with a maverick if he can help it." the shorter Reploid commented, and it was Ayumi's turn to look a bit shocked at that information. "It was in the papers back when Sigma first went maverick. One of the mechaniloids that he and his troops had reprogrammed managed to get to Cain, and, well... Zero was only just in time to keep the thing from killing him." the shorter brunette told her, looking a bit sad at the information that she had to give. Ayumi was just surprised at the fact that she would know this at all. She has to be a seventh generation reploid at the least, probably an eighth or ninth, even!
"I'm amazed you would know information like that from a few years ago, actually. You don't look over, what, maybe one or two years old at most?" Ayumi commented. Of course, she knew from experience about the early days of the uprisings. She'd been activated before then, one of the first generation Reploids that had been created. Prototypes of a prototype, the very definition of a Reploid. Those who came today were built much differently, with new design ideas... Ayumi was practically the same as most of the newer models as well, thanks to the complete overhaul that she'd been given. There was little left of her old, first generation design. Only the secondary matrix that had survived the battle with the virus, after all.
"Well, you don't look too old either, to tell the truth. But you're right, I got my information from Zero a while ago. My name's Iris, by the way. It is nice to meet you." the shorter brunette said to Ayumi, and Ayumi smiled in return as she heard her name, as well as where the information was received from. Zero... the name was easily recognizable. There were only a very few people, Reploid or human, who didn't know that name. Commander Zero, leader of the Maverick Hunters after Sigma's defection. The same Zero who sacrificed to save Commander X from some maverick. The one who was resurrected to do battle again, only a little over a year ago. And now? He was a Commander once more, and obviously, a good friend of Iris'.
"My name is Ayumi. It is very nice to meet you, Iris." Ayumi replied, and then she smiled again as she tugged on the sleeves of her hand-me-down jacket slightly. "I hope I haven't kept you from any appointments, if that is what you are here for." she said to the other, who simply nodded slowly at the words, her eyes seeming to widen a bit as she took the time to check her internal chronometer. Or was it recognition instead?
"Oh! I'm late for meeting Zero! I'm really sorry, but I must be off!" she said, and then in a flash of purple light, Iris was gone from sight, darting towards the heavens in an effort to make up for lost time. Ayumi glanced up at the ceiling and then sighed slowly before shaking her head. Obviously, Iris was a bit more than just a friend, she thought to herself, even as she smiled a little bit. Then, she frowned. She hadn't been allowed to make any calls to America since being reactivated, and there hadn't been any response to the few e-mails that she had been able to send out to Arik's address. That could only mean one of a few things- perhaps he just hadn't received them. Perhaps he had received them, but was unable to reply? But even worse was the nagging feeling she had in the back of her mind, that he wasn't able to receive them because of a reason that was far, far worse than the other two were.
"I'll have to try sending it directly to his number." she told herself quietly, muttering under her breath as she attempted to recall the number of his internal communications device. She'd had to connect directly, that first time. She'd given Arik her own communications number as well, but she hadn't received any communications on that number yet. Certainly, no others knew of it, since it was one of those things that all Reploids chose for themselves, rather than have it randomly done (unless the reploid wanted it that way). I hope that this reaches him, she thought to herself. She knew that MHHQ was in Japan, and he was in America, but there always the chance that he'd be connected to some sort of online network that could carry her message to him.
Enroute
The flight was rather uneventful. Not even a bit of turbulence yet, and wasn't it close to the rainy season now? At least the trip was going by quickly enough, I thought, and I smiled a little with my eyes closed. Internally, I was connected to the plane's wireless internet connection, and downloading what I could find on programs that would allow me to learn Japanese. I could just use a translator program, but the updates for it were a little more scarce and difficult to come by. I'll have to use the updates for as long as I have to, but I knew that I'd eventually have to take the plunge and either integrate the program with my own vocal processors, or learn the language for myself, instead of relying on a program instead.
With the music of a bygone era in my head, I listened and had Roy integrate the program with my speech processors in a loose way, to help with my translations. Then I felt a pulse in my head, one that was much unlike the headaches I'd had earlier in the day during take-off. Then, there was some tone. It took me a moment before I realized what was going on. Someone was attempting to gain entry into my communication's port, and send me some sort of information? I was immediately wary at this sudden intrusion, and tentatively sent out the virus programs out to check and scan the package that had been sent. The information flashed before me, and I nodded slowly as the file turned out to be completely clean.
A text-only file. No spam, spyware, or viruses attached to it anywhere, either on the secured line that I found near it or the trace of a return address that had been upon it. Warily, I gestured to the file, bringing it up to where I could look at the address. It had an at the end of it, and I knew that no one would attempt to use that particular site to send files unless it was actually the maverick hunters. Open, I told the message, and it unfolded before my eyes, the text enlarging to where I could read it. It took a few moments for me to go through it, and then I blinked.
It had been, by and large, a simple greeting letter. Sent by someone with a name that I recognized, but couldn't believe. A... Ayumi? My eyes opened, and I looked ahead to the seat in front of me, stunned beyond belief. Ayumi? I shuddered a little, arms clasping before my chest as I looked out the nearby window. I stared outside. Was this a joke? A possible mistake? Had I perhaps sent that to myself... or was Roy playing a trick on me?
"This system would never present a farce such as this one upon you." Roy replied, picking up on my thoughts. I nodded slightly, unnoticed by the human in the seat beside mine, as I watched the white clouds beneath the plane. If it wasn't Roy, who could it possibly be? I listed the possibilities in my mind, and then proceeded to tear them apart. Lifesaver? He didn't have time for jokes like these, really. And he knew me well enough that I wouldn't take well to such a thing, either. That old doctor, the second generation reploid? No, he had been killed by Ayumi when she had been maverick.
"As the old saying goes: If the solution, however improbable, is the only solution, then it must be, by order of elimination, the truth. Or something like that." Roy said, and I groaned slightly, remembering the old book that I'd read back in elementary school that had that in there. Spouting Sherlock Holmes now, are ya Roy? I asked the system, which just seemed to give me a little chuckle in reply. It was a reploid brain, after all, and the intermediary between my thoughts and my body's actions. It certainly would have access, if only reading access, to some of my thoughts and dreams that I'd had. If that had been something that I had dreamt, that would explain the information that it had brought up.
So... was Ayumi alive? I looked away from the window, and to my right hand as I recalled the day that I'd had to strike my best friend. No. She couldn't be. Mavericks were melted to scrap and then the materials were recycled into anything but machines or reploids, such as aluminum cans and such. She can't be alive, no one would allow such a thing! Besides... she was a maverick, now. Even if she wasn't dead... I shuddered, remembering her with the lifeless eyes as she lie on the floor, unmoving in the slightest degree as I closed my eyes. The image came up unbidden, and I heard Roy vaguely say that it was shutting down now. The reploid's voice couldn't be heard as I mentally began to kick my own ass for the predicament that I had accidentally put my friend into.
"She must be..." I told myself, a whisper that no others could possibly hear. My fingers tightened on the jacket that I wore, a dark green color of a new, medium-weight design. Not that I was worried about getting cold, but because I liked it, really. I hadn't been cold since before my body had been activated, after all, thanks to the power generator inside of me. But now, I felt that somewhat familiar feeling again. Cold. With a shake of my head, I looked over the contents of the message again, but the return address was If it wasn't her, who could it possibly be? No one alive knew of our friendship outside of Lifesaver, and I rather doubt that he'd tell anyone about it.
"What the hell?" I muttered, and pulled up a reply message to send back to the address that I'd remembered from when she had connected herself to me, back before all this happened. Stored away, really, in my reploid memory banks, was a much more accurate way of putting it. Then, I wrote a new message to send to whoever this was.
To Hello.
I don't know how you know who I am, and I have to admit, I don't appreciate jokes like this. My friend Ayumi was killed as a Reploid gone Maverick. How you managed to find out my internal communications number is strange, and unless I receive a reply from you detailing how you could know when I know that not even the maverick hunters have it yet, I'll be changing it soon. I want to know how you knew my number, as well as know about my friendship with her! How did you find out?
Short and to the point. If I had gone any more into it, I'd probably have written about how poorly I was dealing with the situation, being a main cause as to Ayumi's death. As if a bunch of dead humans and badly damaged reploids couldn't attest to Ayumi's killing spree as a maverick. The cold look in her eyes was something I'd likely never forget, the feel of her hands clenched about my neck as she attempted to choke my life from me. Then I struck back, barely able to keep her from attacking me long enough for her to regain control, if only for a second. The virus recovered and took her body again after I struck her several more times, each time causing me to shake.
I still hadn't recovered fully from that. Perhaps the hunters had a remedy for that sort of thing other than a format of the mind? That particular measure wouldn't work on someone with a human mind, after all. With a sigh, I sent the message back to whoever was playing the prank on me, and then shut the communications port from access while I continued to download the last update for the translator program that I now had installed.
Headquarters
The large, red, dragon-like reploid soon found himself inside a room that was designated as recruitment, and he grinned a little as he walked inside and saw someone he hadn't expected. His unit's ex-navigator, now promoted to paper-pusher, was busy with the documentation that described and listed all of the new recruits' abilities. There had been rumors all around the HQ about a certain recruit who was scheduled to be coming in soon, one who had tangled with a maverick reploid with only his bare hands and feet. The thought of a new hunter with good hand-to-hand skills excited the Dragoon, and so here he was to try and get as much information on the man as he could.
"So, where's the last guy for the new batch of hunters, eh?" the gruff voice asked, and Alia looked up to see the unit commander of the 14th coming towards her. The Dragoon towered over Alia, and she had to fight the obvious discomfort she usually felt when near the unit commander. Magma smiled a little to his ex-navigator, who had been reassigned to doing paperwork after that top secret project had been finished the other day or so. What exactly they had been doing, Dragoon wasn't sure of, but he knew that it had to do with a maverick of some type.
"Don't worry about him, Dragoon. He's a cyborg, so he's coming by plane. He'll be here in a few hours, barring any sort of interference. You don't have to train him, though. Not yet." she told him, a small smile on the blonde reploid's face. "We've got a few hunters who'll be testing him to see where best he'll fit, but to tell the truth, my money's on a hunter unit." she said, and Dragoon grinned slightly. Inside, however, he was disappointed. He'd heard that whoever this was had managed to stave off a maverick with his own hands and feet, without a weapon to help. Now that he knew it was a cyborg, he was somehow disappointed.
Alia wasn't aware of that as she continued. "Besides, from what I can tell, he's a friend of the reploid that I helped with saving during the past week or so. I don't know how much of that is actually true, but perhaps by the time he gets here, we'll have to prepare a reunion of sorts." she said, but Magma was already walking away. He didn't care about reunions, unless it involved himself somehow, and that one didn't sound like it would. The pink-armored Reploid blinked as she noticed Magma walking away without even a goodbye, and she shrugged slowly as she realized that he simply didn't really care at all about the circumstances.
She blinked again, hearing the door on the other side of the room slide open even as Magma made his way out through a different door. Her sensors caught wind of the signature of someone she knew rather well, and Alia smiled as she looked over to the door that someone had just walked into the room through. "Well, hello Ayumi. Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked, the smile fading as she saw the look on the brunette's face. She was frowning, and if she could cry, she probably would be doing so, Alia noticed. "Wha... what's the matter?" she asked carefully, setting the datapad down on the desk she had been working at and then walked over to Ayumi.
"Don't come near me, Alia." she warned the blonde, and Alia stopped short, about six feet away from the girl who told her not to come any closer. "I was a maverick. Tell me, why am I even still alive?" she asked, her eyes glaring at Alia who stepped back as if hit by a ton of force, both physical and mental. Who had told her that, Alia wondered, even as she shook her head to Ayumi. "I know that maverick reploids get melted into storage containers or worse. What am I still doing here?"
"You're alive, because you fought the virus, Ayumi. We salvaged your mind, but the virus contaminated your body. We managed to keep you alive, though your memory was fragmented." she explained carefully. Ayumi nodded at that, and then stepped forward as she placed a hand on Alia's right arm. In an instant, she sent the blonde a copy of the message that she had received only a few minutes ago. One that had sent her almost running through the hallways to where they were now, barreling past hunters and humans alike.
The message made Alia blink, and then smile a little. So, that's why she is so upset? "Ayumi, remember, none of us have been able to get ahold of him. Not even Lifesaver, since he was so busy. And I ran a test through the server that his e-mail address is located on. Guess what? It had been based in Doppler Town. The reason he never got any messages is because that server was completely vaporized!" Alia informed her friend, who nodded mutely. "He doesn't know that you're still alive, Ayumi. If he did, I'm sure he wouldn't have sent a message like that. We'll give him a surprise, okay?" she said, and Ayumi blinked after that.
It took only a moment more of explanation before that sorrowful look on her face was aleviated, with something much more meaningful taking its place. A smile spread wide, and then a grin. She knew he hated surprises, but this would be something that not even Arik would be able to keep himself from enjoying, as long as the cards were played right. He was coming here, after having joined the hunters! Alia watched the brunette smile, and it was certainly infectious, she thought to herself, as she couldn't help but to smile as well. Quickly, Alia brought up her communications program and began to give the details of everything to a message that would be sent to Commander X.
Sure, it was pulling rank, but that was alright. X would understand the significance of this. Alia did hesitate as she tried to put a number of hours to how long she would need to have off from work- she couldn't just let Ayumi go alone, after all. She'd never been around New Tokyo, yet alone Japan, and she hadn't needed to learn the language yet, written or voiced. Alia nodded, adding about 3 hours to the amount of time she'd need off, starting when and when she would be back. X would probably allow her the time off, if it was possible... Maverick uprisings were on the decline, much as they were immediately after Sigma had been defeated. Surely, X would understand the importance of this to Ayumi, right?
The message was sent, even as Ayumi attempted to write a new message to her friend. Alia couldn't tell what she would try to write to him, and so just told her to hold off on sending any more messages until they reached the terminal in a few hours, when he should be arriving at the airport. Alia sent the message to Commander X, who was otherwise in his room, most likely attempting to relax or possibly just lamenting the fact that he had sent many reploids to their ultimate demise in the scrapheap that was the volcanic disposal facility. Alia felt sorry for the commander- she could understand that he felt responsible, but why for everything? I'll have to see if there's anything I can do to help him, she thought to herself, even as she removed Ayumi's hand from her arm.
"Check the time of when his flight gets in, Ayumi. You know where he'd be coming from better than I would, so let me know when he should be arriving here and we'll get a vehicle to go to the airport in. If he's coming by airplane, he sure isn't ready for teleporting yet." Alia informed the enthusiastic brunette, who just simply nodded as she went over to lean against the wall while she attempted to locate that information. Alia, on the other hand, sighed softly as she got back to work. Despite the fact that she'd just sent in a request to get some time off, she still had work she wanted to finish first. No need to put off til tomorrow what you can still do today, she told herself mentally, a smile on her face as she leaned over the desk to pick up the datapad. She had lied to Ayumi, actually had the information regarding Arik's departure and arrival times in her memory banks already, but the girl needed something to do.
In his room is where he had stayed for most of the past several weeks, save for when helping with that virus survivor. Ever since he had recovered from the damage he had taken from the hands, claws, stingers, and other various weapons of the maverick generals he had faced, he had remained alone. Not even Zero had really had much time to talk to him, and, as X knew himself, he could use a talking to. With a sigh, X stared up at the ceiling, rather than facing his memories again. Fighting takes so much outta me, he thought to himself as his mind attempted to make the clean ceiling surface be more interesting than it really was. Damn Sigma! How long must I continue to fight to keep humans safe from Reploids? It was a question, he realized, that he'd never been able to fully answer for himself. Indeed, Sigma had been a cause of many problems since he went maverick a few years ago.
Including the last two uprisings, though the first one spanned over six months before it was finally finished. How he had managed to deal with the ex-leader of the maverick hunters was like a blur. Especially after Sigma's programming transferred into an actual program that became, according to Dr. Doppler's research, a virus. It would explain how he always seemed to be behind every major uprising, at least. The virus had been detected and confirmed by Doppler before he went maverick as a result of working upon it, attempting to reverse-engineer the thing. But the virus itself wound up corrupting him somehow! That anti-virus program that Doppler had created had almost allowed him to retire, to escape the battling forever if the program had actually been perfected.
But no, Sigma was behind the virus. Again! He'd corrupted Doppler before the vaccine had been completed, and then to make sure that no others could finish the work, had sent Gravity Beetle to destroy the last surviving file of the research before it could be backed up in seperate locations, or accessed by anyone other than those in Doppler Town. The city was gone now, wiped off the map by a gravity implosion. Many humans and reploids had died in the attack. That damned beetle had the gall to gloat over X about it. Well, that was one particular reploid that I didn't mind ridding the world of, he mused, closing his eyes as the explosion that the beetle had given off after the gravity altering device in his body went haywire and wound up blowing his parts to different corners of the room as a result.
There was a soft tone in his head as he received a communication, and he smiled slightly as he noticed the name in the sender category. Ah... he hadn't received anything from her before, save for when it was an emergency, but this was a welcome message from Alia. So, Ayumi, that reploid that she had helped bring back to life, had a friend who was joining the hunters today? Well, perhaps that would be interesting to see, he considered, and he couldn't help but to smile. Zero was out with Iris again, doing who knows what. Though, he could guess, which brought a blush to his face as he considered what his best friend could be doing. Of course, it didn't truly concern him, and so X sat up and looked around his sparse room. Everywhere he looked, a familiar surrounding. An old Lightech computer, top of the line back when it was created by his 'father'.
He frowned a little as he thought about Dr. Light. Why had he created him? Had he known from the beginning that this sort of thing would happen? It was those questions that he asked himself daily now, but with a shrug he just stood up and ordered the lights to turn on. The darkened room soon brightened as the lights went on, bringing with the change in his own demeanor. I can't stay like this. I have to move on, he told himself. Whether or not his father had known that he would go to war like this wasn't worth worrying over- the fact is, I'm stuck with the job until Sigma's finally gone and that virus has been deleted. It seemed like Sigma was gone... but he was a virus, one that was persistent and undefeatable by any who had gone against it, save for a precious few.
There was just something in the back of his head that was telling X that Sigma wasn't gone yet. That everything hadn't been decided yet. With a small smile on his face, he realized as well that his importance in the life of the world was not yet done, that he was still needed and would be for many years to come. A premonition, he wondered, and then he just shrugged as he thought back to that message that Alia had sent him. I think I'll have to check on the workload and see if they really need her doing paperwork today, he thought to himself, and then grinned a little bit. He felt a bit better now, strangely, and he hadn't even actually done anything yet. Perhaps it was just enough to know that one day, that virus would finally be destroyed. And there would be peace enough for all once more.
Author's Note: Well, that's not a bad way to end the latest chapter. I dunno, is the fic going too slow, do you guys think? I personally like the speed I'm going at- nice and slow, with plenty of interaction and characterizations. Hehe, so now I've got a happy character, a somewhat depressed character who still has a little hope, and then there's my two main characters. All reviews, preferably constructive criticism, are welcome. Suggestions can be sent to my e-mail address (provided in my Bio page). I'll try to have the next chapter up soon!
Review Responses:
Chaos Emerald Guardian- Thanks for the review. I plan on having more Arik in the next chapters (I'm already working on chapter 7).
Lady Axlia- Oops, sorry about that! I'll see if I can fix that up.
Jazzerman- Sorry about that! I'll try to leave a review soon. I've been kinda busy.
Blade Dragoon- Ah, welcome to my series! Thanks for the review, too. I'm glad you like this kind of fic, and I hope you'll be around to review for a while longer. I plan on making this fic end at around 10-12 chapters, I think.
J- I understand that the reploids are above the three laws, that they're basically there as a guideline and nothing else. That's why I said what I did!
Hotshot- Thanks for continuing to review!
Delta X- You're right, the last several chapters have been getting shorter. Which is partly why this chapter is even longer than the others! Over 9,000 words here, this time. I think you'll have to wait until the next chapter to get an overview of the MHHQ, however. Hehe, I'm already over 3,000 words into chapter 7, so you shouldn't have to wait much longer than a week or so now.
Zaisha- I know what ya mean. I had to do something about the three laws, and a sarcastic remark seemed best for the job.